Once again the Falcon is trying to give up crime and womanising and get married, only to get embroiled in a mystery, in this case the disappearance of an imitation diamond manufacturer. His fiancée his played by Wendy Barrie, playing the same character as in the first one, but a totally different characterisation (in the first film she was high spirited and romantic, here she’s arch and bossy – she slaps Sanders several times and also destroys some plates).
There’s a scene where the Falcon is being carried away by the baddies and he gets out of his by being obnoxious to police – the technique used by Cary Grant in North by Northwest. I also liked the bit where a crowd gathers on the footpath thinking the Falcon will jump to his death from a ledge – and when he doesn’t they sigh with disappointment.
Allen Jenkins also returns. And Hans Conried, who plays the hotel concierge played a sketch artist in the first film. James Gleason plays a copper. It’s very well directed by Irvin Reis, who keeps it all fast moving and full of life. Story-wise, though, it does feel a little long, even if the running time is only 62 minutes.
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